Rail technology leader Bombardier Transportation is celebrating the start of passenger services on the Gold Coast light rail system in Queensland, Australia. The GoldLinQ consortium has successfully delivered the 13 km light rail line with 16 stations and 14 distinctive, modern BOMBARDIERFLEXITY 2 trams in just three years, as part of an 18-year Public Private Partnership with the Government of Queensland and the Gold Coast City Council.

Phil Mumford, Chief Executive Officer, GoldLinQ said: “Stage one of the Gold Coast light rail is all about connecting the city’s key precincts and providing sound transport infrastructure around which the city can grow. Now that light rail is here, citizens can choose to live, work and travel in new and different ways in and around the Gold Coast.”

Pierre Attendu, President, Systems Division, Bombardier Transportation, added: “Bombardier and our partners in the GoldLinQ consortium have delivered to the Gold Coast a first-class light rail system from which a truly integrated and sustainable transport network will flourish.”

The new light rail corridor connects the new Gold Coast University Hospital and Griffith University with the key activity centres of Southport, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach. It promises to improve the liveability of the Gold Coast significantly by improving accessibility while reducing the effects of congestion that come with a rapidly growing city. Each of the new trams has capacity for 308 passengers with seating for 84, and the overall system has been designed to accommodate up to 75,000 passengers per day.

Bombardier has delivered the electrical and mechanical (E&M) scope including the new electrically powered, low-floor FLEXITY 2 trams. The trams’ outstanding visual design has already been recognised with a Good Design® Award in the automotive and transport category. The Australian Good Design Awards are Australia’s longest standing national design award and promotion program.

Each tram is 43.5 m long, 2.65 m wide and 3.6 m high. The trams are bi-directional with a cab at each end and have a top speed of 70 km/h. Inside features include comfortable seating, air conditioning, wheelchair spaces and multipurpose areas for luggage and prams, as well as surf board racks.

As part of its turnkey system package, Bombardier also delivered signalling and control systems, communications systems, electrification including traction power supply substations and overhead line equipment (OHLE). In addition, it provided project management, systems engineering and integration, testing and commissioning for the new LRVs and signalling system. At the depot, Bombardier supplied depot and plant equipment and will now provide the vehicle maintenance for a period of 15 years.

Trams and light rail vehicles are the most energy efficient mode of transportation, consuming up to five times less energy per passenger than cars travelling with an average of between one and two people. Bombardier’s fully customisable trams and LRVs have a recyclability rate of approximately 92 per cent and a recoverability rate of about 98 per cent (recycling + energy recovery). They are designed for sustainable mobility throughout their life cycle. To date, 3,500 trams and light rail vehicles from Bombardier have either been ordered or are already operating in about 100 cities in more than 20 countries around the globe.

GoldLinQ is a group of companies consisting of GoldLinQ Pty Ltd, McConnell Dowell Constructors Pty Ltd and KDR Gold Coast Pty Ltd. Bombardier Transportation Australia Pty Ltd is part of the D&C Joint Venture, GoldLinq’s sub-contractor responsible for the design and construction of the system.

About Bombardier Transportation

Bombardier Transportation, a global leader in rail technology, offers the broadest portfolio in the rail industry and delivers innovative products and services that set new standards in sustainable mobility. BOMBARDIERECO4 technologies – built on the four cornerstones of energy, efficiency, economy and ecology – conserve energy, protect the environment and help to improve total train performance for operators and passengers. Bombardier Transportation is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and has a very diverse customer base with products or services in more than 60 countries. It has an installed base of over 100,000 vehicles worldwide.

About Bombardier

Bombardier is the world’s only manufacturer of both planes and trains. Looking far ahead while delivering today, Bombardier is evolving mobility worldwide by answering the call for more efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us a global leader in transportation.

Bombardier is headquartered in Montréal, Canada. Our shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD) and we are listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indices. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, we posted revenues of $18.2 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.